►Tell us about you and your podcast

The D.T.F Podcast is a bi-monthly podcast hosted by me, Sam Norton. I am a career stand-up comedian with over 10 year experience and a life time nerd of all things humorous. D.T.F stands for "Dissect the Frog", which gets its name from the old E.B White quote:
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog, few people enjoy it and the frog dies".

Every other week I guide my listeners, who themselves are true comedy students and nerds, through a comedic symposium dissecting the chosen topic and dissecting every detail. From joke structure to crowd psychology; from the subjectively funny to the historically humorous. On the D.T.F podcast I "Dissect The Frog" in microscopic detail as if we were in a car ride to a hellish road gig, trying to pass the time together.

►Why & how did you start this podcast?

I started the D.T.F podcast in early 2015 as a new years resolution to 'find a new hobby', and what better hobby than one that could pay future dividends? I started recording multiple episodes in January of 2015 and released the 1st episode in February.

The idea came from the countless amounts of debating, pontificating and dissections of comedy in conversations with fellow comics on road trips and in green rooms. Now, D.T.F is 100% a passion project to build a community of fellow comedy zealots who find the humorous art from endlessly fascinating.

Finding nuanced and compelling topics is as easy as remembering what drunken conversation I had from the week before and putting in a little sober research and logic.

►How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?

We release episodes every other week so that proper care and research (if needed) can be taken to make an entertaining episode. Being a full time stand-up comic myself allows me to produce on a regular basis and set my own schedule when it comes to recording/marketing/producing.

►What do you gain from podcasting?

This podcast is funded 100% by my own comedy. All these years in doing comedy I have learned how to pinch pennies. I do not ask anything of my listeners in the hopes that they enjoy my comedy mind so much that they come out and judge my comedy when I roll through their town/city. The long term goal is to build such a popular community of fellow nerds that sponsorship and donations come natural and ethically.

►How does your podcasting process look like?

Every episode is recorded on my Zoom H5 handy recorder in front of my laptop with prepared notes and bullet points. When I settle on a topic for the episode I then find small informational details and clips to analyze. I then write notes down of what specifically I find impressive about each joke. Deciphering the psychology of a bit means to try to get in the mind frame of the artist. Truly understanding the humor means to travel to space-time with your imagination to put yourself in the room and experience it first hand.

Occasionally I have a guest on the podcast but every time it has been in person because I am a believer that the best conversations happen when you can see each others faces and feel each other's energy.

►How do you market your show?

For promotion of the D.T.F Podcast it first starts with the breakdown. Trying to navigate the analytics of each platform (iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud) can be daunting, but it's part of the hobby. Then promotion to my followers on all major social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) begins. Along with promoting through my comedy email list and even giving away merchandise after my shows while on the road.

The biggest and most helpful though is asking those loyal listeners to help promote to fellow comedy nerds they may know. I find that in the age of information the best sources are the word of a close friend or family member.

►What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?

Above all else is to know that whether this is a future career or just a hobby hard work will be in your future.

As much as this is a passion project, consistency is key and you need to stay on that schedule as a responsibility to your listeners/fans. Set an attainable schedule and remember that quality and reliability is the most valuable commodity to your fans.

I researched a ton before releasing my first episode online but because everything changes so quickly, I would say get online and dig around. In the "Age of Information" get online and type in your question and you'll definitely get it.